10 reasons Anna Kendrick’s 'Scrappy Little Nobody' made us love her more

By Maureen Halushak

November 15, 2016

For
Anna Kendrick, releasing the memoir Scrappy Little Nobody (Touchstone, $35) made complete sense. As evidenced by her five million followers, the
petite powerhouse — who is in theatres this month as a lead voice in the animated
blockbuster
Trolls — uses her words to
great effect on Twitter.

Now, she’s going beyond 140 characters in a series of no-holds-barred
essays that chronicle her rise to fame and cement her status as insanely
likeable Everygirl. (Of course, there’s also no shortage of Twitter-style zings.) As your next must-read hits bookshelves on Nov. 15, we've rounded up 10
reasons
Scrappy Little Nobody makes FLARE's winter cover star even more endearing.

Anna's memoir hits bookshelves on Nov. 15

She’s a child star who turned out
A-OK
Kendrick
got her first big break on Broadway at the age of 12 in the musical comedy
High Society, based on the movie of the
same name starring Grace Kelly. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her
performance, but lost to Broadway legend Audra MacDonald.

She once lived in a walk-in pantryWhen Anna was making her first
movie — 2003’s
Camp, now a cult
favourite in the musical theatre community — she had to find an inexpensive
living arrangement, so she moved into the walk-in pantry of a New York City
apartment shared by three film students. On the bright side, she says, it was
“mostly empty.”

Anna's big break came opposite George Clooney in Up In The Air

George Clooney paid her the ultimate
compliment, but she didn’t realize it at first
In the midst of shooting Up in the Air,
George told Anna that she was “pitching a no-hitter,” but she
didn’t entirely get what he meant as she’s not a baseball fan — nor did she want
to google it and risk the ego trip.

She remains eternally grateful for the Twilight franchiseAnna played Jessica Stanley, sassy non-vampire and friend of Bella, in all four films — the first of which came out in 2008, the year before Up in the Air. She credits the Twilight paycheques with keeping her afloat when she was just starting out.

A photo posted by Anna Kendrick (@annakendrick47) on
May 9, 2015 at 3:10am PDT

She’s not a capital F fashion personAs a middle class kid who grew up in Portland, Maine, Anna shopped at J.C. Penny, L.L. Bean and Payless Shoe Source; today she says she doesn’t feel entirely comfortable in the four-figure dresses and designer shoes she regularly wears on magazine covers and the red carpet.

She (understandably) lost her cool over kissing Orlando Bloom in Digging for FireAnna played a small role in the indie film, in which Orlando was starring; she’d had a crush on the Lord of the Rings actor since she was a teenager. The scene they shared didn’t involve a kiss at first, but after a few takes the director suggested they try it. She managed to keep her cool until she got back home and shrieked, “Oh my god, I just made out with Legolas!”

She’s BFFs with Aubrey PlazaAnna met the Parks and Recreation star while filming Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and they recently starred together in Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates . They’re so close that Anna asked Aubrey to come with her when she was buying her second car (like her first car, she opted for a used Prius).

She’s the self-described “mayor of Squaresville”Case in point: After telling a
friend that she had never snuck into a movie before, he forced her into doing
so for
Iron Man; Anna felt guilty
the entire time. A year later, she was at dinner with Robert Downey Jr. and Jon
Favreau and offered to pay them back.

Anna Kendrick is the cover girl for FLARE's winter issue

She admires #AskHerMore, but wishes red carpet interviewers would actually ask her lessThe #AskHerMore campaign started as
a response to the fact that female actors are often only asked what designer
they’re wearing. Anna applauds the movement, championed by celebs like
Shonda Rhimes and Lena Dunham, but notes that she’s OK with being the exception
because she says she always gives her worst sound bites on red carpets.

She has the best post-awards show ritualIt involves sweatpants, her couch, an episode of 30 Rock and a big old bowl of macaroni and cheese. The only
indication of what just happened? She keeps on her jewelry, and says the
overall effect is “a trashy jewel thief thing.”

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